Orioles 4, Red Sox 1. Zach Britton allowed one run in six innings, Jim Johnson struck out four in a two inning relief stint, and Kevin Gregg threw a perfect ninth to give the Orioles a rare win. It’s been a rough two weeks for Baltimore, but maybe this win can get them back on the winning track. Vladimir Guerrero had three hits, and in typical Vladimir fashion, only saw seven pitches all evening. Clay Buchholz allowed 12 hits in 6 2/3 to continue his struggles.
Indians 9, Royals 4. Another quality start for Justin Masterson, as he improves to 5-0 on the season. Grady Sizemore (not surprising) and Jack Hannahan (very surprising) each had three hits for the first place Indians. Shin Soo Choo started to get his groove on, driving in four runs. For the Royals, Melky Cabrera continued his improbable run, collecting three hits.
Mariners 7, Tigers 3. Felix Hernandez wasn’t his usual dominant self, but he was a hell of a lot better than Phil Coke was for the Tigers. The anemic Mariners offense got a boost with the return of Justin Smoak, who missed a few games last week after his father passed away. A great effort by the Tigers bullpen (4 2/3 scoreless) prevented the game from getting too far out of hand.
White Sox 3, Yankees 2. Gavin Floyd struck out ten in eight innings, and a two run homer by Paul Konerko in the eighth gave the ChiSox a lead. The big story coming out of this game was the two fantastic plays in the ninth inning by Brent Lillibridge in right field to help Sergio Santos slam the door shut for Chicago after the Yankees put two on against Matt Thornton.
Mets 6, Nationals 4. If you’re a fan of excellent pitching, this game wouldn’t have been for you. Jordan Zimmermann allowed five in 5 1/3, and Chris Young allowed three in 4 2/3. Each bullpen also allowed a run. Wilson Ramos has three hits and three RBI for the Nats, and he’s looking like he could really be their catcher of the future. Ike Davis had three hits for New York, and Josh Thole drove in three.
Marlins 4, Dodgers 2. Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 23 games, and that was the lone bright spot for the Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw didn’t have his best stuff and departed after 5 1/3. Chris Volstad only allowed a pair in seven innings for the Marlins, who got a pair of hits each from Mike Stanton and Hanley Ramirez.
Giants 3, Pirates 2. Former Pirate Freddy Sanchez drove in the game winner with a ground out in the tenth. Quality starts for both Matt Cain and Charlie Morton in this one. Aaron Rowand, Sanchez, and Pablo Sandoval combined for six of the seven Giants hits. Garrett Jones homered for Pittsburgh, who is now 3-7 at home.
Blue Jays 10, Rangers 3. Matt Harrison got hammered (seven runs in only three IP), and Brett Tomko wasn’t much better for Texas (three runs in five IP). A quality start from Jesse Litsch was more than enough for the Blue Jays, who got three hits, three runs, and five RBI from Adam Lind. The Rangers got three hits from Yorvit Torreabla, who’s quietly been very efficient for them.
Rockies 4, Cubs 3. Jorge De La Rosa struck out nine and walked none while only allowing one earned run in seven strong innings. Ty Wigginton had three hits for the Rockies, while Todd Helton had a pair of homers. Jeff Baker and Darwin Barney each had two hits for the Cubs.
Astros 6, Cardinals 5. The Cardinals took the lead in the ninth on a Lance Berkman double, but the Astros got a pair in the bottom of an inning to blow Mitchell Boggs’ first save. Houston’s best offensive players, Hunter Pence and Brett Wallace, each had three hits, while someone named Daniel Descalso went 3/3 for the Cards with three RBI. He also had a pair of doubles and a triple.
Brewers 3, Reds 2. All of the runs scored in this game came via the home run, and it was a Rickie Weeks blast in the eighth that put Milwaukee ahead for good. Marko Estrada only allowed two runs in seven innings to continue his hot start, while Mike Leake did the same. The Reds only managed two hits against the Brewers’ pitching.
Braves 8, Padres 2. Jair Jurrjens went the distance for the Braves, striking out four and walking two. Aaron Harang’s hot start bubble was popped, as he allowed eight earned in six innings. David Ross drove in four, including a homer, in a spot start for the Braves, while Chipper Jones homered and drove in two to tie himself with Mickey Mantle for second place on the all-time RBI list for a switch hitter.
Diamondbacks 7, Phillies 5. Dan Hudson allowed ten hits in six innings, but didn’t walk a batter and held the Phillies to three runs. Roy Oswalt allowed five in three innings, and Ryan Howard’s three hit night wasn’t enough to pick up the win. Hudson also drove in two at the dish, and Ryan Roberts hit his fifth homer of the season.
Angels 8, Athletics 3. If you look up the word shelled in a dictionary, you’ll see Brandon McCarthy’s start on Tuesday as an example (5 1/3 IP, 14 H, 7 ER). The Angels got three hits each from Peter Bourjos, Howie Kendrick, and Torii Hunter. It’s a little amazing to me that the Angels only got eight runs when they pounded out 16 hits total on the evening.
Rays vs Twins – postpoined. Rainouts never used to be an issue in Minnesota. Well, they are now.
LINES OF THE NIGHT
Hitters
Grady Sizemore, Indians. 3/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR
Adam Lind, Blue Jays. 3/5, 3 R, 5 RBI, 2 HR
Daniel Descalso, Cardinals. 3/3, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 2B, 1 3B
Pitchers
Gavin Floyd, White Sox. 8 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. Game score: 75
Jorge De La Rosa, Rockies. 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. Game score: 68
Jair Jurrjenss, Braves. 9 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Game score: 63
Games To Watch
Braves @ Padres. The rubber game in the series features a fantastic pitching matchup of young studs, as Tommy Hanson takes on Mat Latos. A win for the Braves would put them at .500 after a ten game west coast road trip, which is pretty amazing in hindsight.
Phillies @ Diamondbacks. Arizona looks for the sweep (HUH?!?!?), but has to do it with Joe Saunders facing Cole Hamels.
Red Sox @ Orioles. Baltimore won the first game of the series last night, and sends quasi-ace Jeremy Guthrie to the hill to take on a resurgent Josh Beckett.
Enjoy the games, everyone.
